About Me

This blog is my blissful journal of happiness. It’s about everything I adore and people I love. Thanks for stopping by. If you would like to write me, please feel free to email me: diana.mieczan@hotmail.comHave a jolly good day!

Today’s giveaway is from Edor, a swoonworthy California based jewelry boutique that I truly adore! All of Edor's designs are beautifully understated and full of minimalistic charm while in tune with the modern style. Cindy, the owner hopes that every piece she creates will make the wearer feel like their true self. I wear this little necklace daily! It's my go-to piece.

Today, Cindy is offering one lucky person a chance to win one of her designs. The awesome part: the winner can choose their favourite piece from her entire shop. This little coin necklace or this gold bar necklace would make the sweetest Mother's Day gift, wouldn't it? Psst: I have my eye on this beauty and I'm pretty sure that this little ring is perfect for stacking!

For a chance to win you should be a follower of exPress-o, please visit the Edor shop and tell us which piece is your favourite.As always the giveaway is open worldwide. The winner will be chosen at random on Monday morning. Good luck! xo

Yesterday night I worked on a beach while listening to
the relaxing sounds of sea waves dancing with the wind and the
comforting sounds of a bonfire. This morning while writing this post, I
am in a forest surrounded with birds singing and the soothing sounds of a water
stream nearby - all that from the comfort of my home office :) Yup!

Have
you heard about Noisli? It's a fun little background noise and colour
generator ideal for working and relaxing at the same time. It's super easy to
use and the awesome part is that you can mix as many sounds as you like and
change your background colour, so it suits your eyes. Just go here and
start clicking all the different icons till you find your perfect mix!

Now,
tell me where are you now? On a beach, outside somewhere beautiful
or maybe it’s raining right now? So neat, isn't it? xo

Are you good with plants? For years I have been the girl who
loved potted flowers but couldn’t keep them alive, Balazs even used to
joke that I have killer thumbs. Fast forward a few years and I realized
that my biggest problem was caring for them too much. I overwatered my plants to
the point of distraction or moved them around too often. Anyway, miraculously as soon as I relaxed about caring for plants,
they started to blossom and grow like never before.
So when a few weeks ago I spotted a cool tutorial on Gardenista on how to root herbs, I made it into a challenge for myself. If I could do it, it
means my black thumb is cured, but if I couldn’t, I just accept it.
Guess what happened? I did it and now I have 3 different basil plants growing
in my kitchen herb box that I cloned myself!

Why is that good, you might ask? Well, by cloning
your herbs you can multiply them and eventually create a herb garden
that will last you forever,
plus having a little herb garden in your flat will make your kitchen smell
amazing, your food taste ever better and keep your winter blues away for good. So if you fancy expanding your
existing herb patch, here is my step-by-step how to. It's surprisingly simple and easy!
Here
is what you need: a pair of scissors, soft-stemmed herbs (like basil, mint,
parsley or even rosemary), a jar or a small vase, a few pebbles (like those from Ikea), water, organic peat-free compost/soil and a paper juice box.

Step 1: Cut (on an angle) a long stem from
your herb plant and strip off the bottom leaves.
Step 2: Insert the stems
into the jar of water and place it somewhere exposed to some daylight.
No need for direct sun exposure. Minimal daylight is just fine. I promise!
Step 3: Leave it in your chosen place for 1-2
weeks till you spot little roots growing out of it.
Step 4: After
the roots get longer and stronger (about 4-5 days later), toughen
them up by gently dropping a few pebbles, one at a time, onto the roots. If the
pebbles don’t damage your roots, it’s time to transfer it into the soil.
Step
5: Plant it. I used a juice box to plant my basil in, because the wax in the box retains moisture
well and herbs are very happy to grow in places that juice used to be. Using a
knife or a pair of scissors cut out one of the 4 box walls and create a few
holes in the bottom of the box for water drainage.
Step 6: Place a
few pebbles in the bottom of the box and fill it up with soil before gently
planting the rooted herb stem. Add a bit more soil on top if needed and water
it. Ta dah, you're ready!
Easy, isn't it? You can keep your new herb plant in the juice box for up to a few months before
moving it into a new pot. Herbs, especially basil don't like too much water,
so when you water it, make sure to water it generously, but all the access that
comes out underneath should be poured out right away, since herbs don't like standing in water. Also, only water your herbs every 3-4 days or when the
soil feels dry to the touch.

Happy urban gardening, lovelies! Thoughts? Would you give it a go? Do you have herbs at home? xo

Ever since Balazs and I started to be more conscious about
our food, I realised the importance of reading labels. So when I spotted this nifty little fruit juice project, it blew my mind because who normally bothers
to visualize how many apples goes into one organic juice box or a bottle of pure
grape juice, right? So the cool thing is that the images above show exactly
how much liquid is produced from a single piece of fruit.

I don't know about you, but watermelon totally shocked
me because I could bet it produced much more juice, especially next to a
pineapple that is so much smaller. Plus, how weird that a strawberry and a pear
have almost the same amount of liquid? Ha! Do you make your own juices? Thoughts? xo

Yowza! Twice a year, the Gurung tribe in central Nepal goes
on a honey hunting expedition where they risk their lives to harvest honey from
the world’s largest honeybee. It’s one
of the tribe’s oldest, proudest and most dangerous traditions that have been passed down through
generations. Andrew Newey was lucky enough to join in and capture the hunt on film. I get goosebumps just looking at those photos! Brave and scary,
don’t you think? xo

What’s your lipstick colour of choice this spring? I’m
smitten with all things orangey-red and I can’t wait to pop by Topshop this
afternoon to try their Lips in Infrared lippy (above). Isn't it sassy?

After spotting
Sarah wearing it the other day, I’ve been dying to get it too since it gives
that 1920's glam with a modern twist. Btw: my friend Sofia tried it over the
weekend and she described it as the smoothest and sexiest
shade she has ever worn. Eek, I’m excited! Would you try it? xo

After a very eventful Friday with Buffer we
spent the weekend pretty much relaxing, recharging and eating fried eggs on streamed
asparagus. There is something about that combo that makes everything better,
doesn’t it?

So, if you fancy some spring comfort food here is a little trick to
make your fried eggs even better than they already are. Not possible? Oh yes,
it is! The secret is simple: just add a few drops of water to the pan and
cover. The water creates steam which slightly
poaches the top of the egg while the bottom remains crispy. The result is the
most beautiful fried egg you've ever laid your eyes on. Don’t take my word for
it. Try it!
(Here is the step-by-step how to). xo

Cheers to the weekend, darlings! I’m so sorry
to be posting a bit later today but it’s been a crazy day so far. Our Buffer’s condition
got much worse, so we spent the morning at the vet's office. Wish you a lovely and relaxing weekend and I see you
Monday morning. Here are a few links I hope you enjoy checking out! xoxo

Do you like ice cream sandwiches? With May being just six short days away, I figured it was time to start thinking
about making a batch or two. Hmm, maybe this way we can trick the weather to get warmer sooner:)

Anyway, when I stumbled upon these
sinful squares above, I knew it was a sign because what could be more delicious
than a mix of ice-cream and cookie dough, right? Blimey, to say that I love
cookie dough is an understatement – giggle:)

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been lusting over French girls' hair. Somehow their
locks always look perfectly messy, uber cool, wavy, beautifully understated, yet so darn stylish,
wouldn't you agree?

So after tons of fails, I finally stumbled upon Alex's post where she asked all her French readers to help her out and share their secret tricks. They all delivered and funnily enough, they all follow the same rules - which is brilliant! So, if you fancy to Frenchify your hair, here are the 5 golden rules that are actually super
simple (and very surprising) but they will transform your locks in no time:
1. Wash your hair
maximum 3 times a week (less would be even better) with a plain supermarket
shampoo. No other products are really necessary but you can use a bit of hair oil
if you really need to. Make sure not to use conditioner as it will make
your hair flat and straight.

2. When you wash your hair,
always do it in the evening and go to sleep with your hair still
wet. Some girls leave their hair down while sleeping (I do), others put it
up in a top knot. You should try both and see which works for
you.

3. If you prefer washing
your hair in the morning, never blow dry it but always air-dry it. Wind
on the streets or draft in the subway will only do
them good.

4. If your hair is very
straight, brush it as infrequently as possible without letting it all go
to knots but try avoiding daily brushing and if you really need to, only
do it wet.

5. Rule to remember: the
less tempering and touching, the healthier your hair will look on
the long run.
Basically, going through
your day without thinking too much of your hair is the
best tip to achieve French girls' hair:)

I’ve been doing all
those things for the past few weeks and my hair looks pretty much
like Caroline’s above. Bingo! I even got a few compliments, so I must be
doing something right! Somehow simplifying my hair routine made all the difference and my hair looks so healthy!

This little bunch of lilies of the valley has been making our living room smell like spring since yesterday. I spotted them just
before meeting someone for a work lunch, so I put them in my bag when I entered
the restaurant. While taking our order, the waitress
discreetly asked me what perfume I was wearing because it smelled exactly like her
favourite spring flowers. Well, it wasn’t my perfume, it was my bunch of
flowers in my tote, begging to come out :)

After a few giggles and a little chat
she told us that lilies of the valley symbolize the return of happiness and bring luck in love, which really made my lunch companion light up. So, if you have any single friends out there, treat them to a bunch of those beauties to
make their week! I know I will.

Btw:they
are typically sold in France on the first day of May. So if you are in
Paris, don’t forget to buy them:) What flowers do you like the most right now? xo